NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF A RIB IMPLANT USING AN ARTIFICIAL RIB

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical and experimental evaluation of a new osteosynthesis rib implant. The reported cases are studied using the Finite Element Method (FEM) to compute the implant’s surface strain. The implant was placed to a human morphological rib manufactured in polylactic acid (PLA) by 3D printing. Experimental studies are carried out with a strain gage stuck on the implant’s surface and tested by using a testing machine called Testing Machine for Artificial Rib Impact (TEMARI). The machine was used to emulate the compression force that performs in the chest during deep breathing on humans. The results from numerical analysis and the experimental test show a variation of 4.9% in the compression displacement of the rib, 6.1% in the strain of the left surface of the rib, 1.6% for the strain of the right surface of the rib, and finally 3.1% for the strain in the middle surface of the implant.